


Trials of a Rookie Rancher

by NatsuoftheDawn



Series: all these AUs and yet I haven't updated SE yet [1]
Category: Slime Rancher (Video Game)
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Hilarity Ensues, One Shot, Slime Adoption, Slime Rancher OC Zine, Who allowed her to run a ranch on her own, Zine piece
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:28:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24429487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatsuoftheDawn/pseuds/NatsuoftheDawn
Summary: Riida Aru got selected into starting her own Slime Ranch. Maybe she should've done her reading before the cyro-sleep.Hopefully, she can wing it as she goes along. It's just a bunch of cute slimes, how bad can it be?(A piece made for the Slime Rancher OC Zine)
Series: all these AUs and yet I haven't updated SE yet [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958755
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Trials of a Rookie Rancher

**Author's Note:**

> (kicks the door of another small fandom)  
> (drops only one fic)  
> (leaves)
> 
> Okay, real talk time sjdkhsdjk Hi! Hello! Welcome to my 2nd zine piece! The reason why it's not my first is because my first one, which also involved Riida but in the Pokemon world, wasn't as good as I hoped it'll be. You can view it if you google Pokemon Nameless NPC Appreciation Zine, it's free! I'll post a better version of that one day here.
> 
> Moving on, I hope you enjoy this even if you haven't played Slime Rancher. I just started playing when I first joined the project, but now I'm fully hooked!

_My dear sister,_

_By the time this gets to you, I’ll most likely be landing at my new home. I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but I promise to work hard and send you as much of my profits as I possibly can. I’ve only seen pictures of what this ranch looks like. It’ll require a lot of work to get everything working in tip-top shape before results are made, but I agreed to the risks of ranching slimes when I signed up. Tell mom I said hi and I miss her. Hope to send more messages when I’m all settled in :)_

_Love ya!  
-Riida_

~~~

A new day brings a new horizon outside of Riida’s new home. It took her some time to reacquaint herself with her unknown surroundings before remembering exactly why she’s here. She signed up to take up the daunting task of ranching slimes on a far-off planet. It’s a high risk, high reward job that the blonde woman took her chance with even if it means being separated from her family. 

…

...Why did she sound so depressed? This job is going to be so exciting! Space travel plus ranching some adorable blobs around is the ultimate adventure in her eyes. Sure, she’s going to be on her own, but she heard there were other ranchers that she can communicate with. Riida hopes they’re friendly. No matter what her experience is going to be, it’ll be something to write home about. Hopefully, the StarMail can support pictures, because Riida is going to be spamming her twin sister with them.

When she awoke from the cryo-sleep trip the first thing she did on this new planet was...fall asleep in an actual bed. As much as she wanted to scope out the land, getting warmed up in a comfy bed sounds like a much better choice. It was a miracle she could fall asleep after so long. 

As she ran around her little shack, patting down her body to check if she’s ready to take on the day. “Jumpsuit, check. Vacpack, check…” She muttered. Riida flicked the suction of the vacpack both ways to double-check that it’s working. She checks it again, just in case. She suppresses the urge to idly start flicking the switch on and off before she accidentally breaks it before it got used for its original intention.

“Alright. Looks like everything’s good to go. Time to take on the day! Riida Aru, heading out!” With an enthusiasm-fueled pull, she’s greeted with her workspace. She even said hello to the sun with open arms and stayed there for a minute. Now that she’s taking in the weather of this planet, Riida struggles to unzip the upper part of her jumpsuit so she doesn’t accidentally cook herself. 

Riida Aru takes her first step as a slime rancher. She hopes that she’ll have a strong start. 

~

“Oh, aren’t you adorable?”

Not even a half-mile from the ranch did Riida encounter her first slimes. It couldn’t be any more than two dozen pink slimes, and all two dozen of them are just...so adorable! She only has two arms to hug them all. The happy-looking blobs didn’t mind her presence, but then all eyes were on her when a carrot didn’t quite make it into the vac. Picking it up with her hand was a big mistake.

The blobs were all over her in a second. It was like children fighting to get the last limited edition toy on the shelf. “Ack! Hold on! There’s only one of me and a dozen of you!” She yelled as if it would matter. In a panic, she throws the carrot in a random direction and the slimes follow suit. In the dogpile (slimepile?) the young rancher couldn’t see who became the victor, but she did notice a familiar shape, small and pink, rolling away from the now dispersed group. It was difficult to get a good grasp on it, so Riida had no choice but to use another storage container for it. 

Let’s see, one...two…yea, fifteen of these cuties total would be a great start to her ranching career. However, the fence that she has up right now might not be able to properly contain all of them so...maybe she could bring back five and then retrieve the rest later? She’ll have to replant that little carrot patch, but it’ll be great in the long run to have plorts naturally produced in case she needed a little more funds. Apparently, pink slimes are the most common and don’t sell a lot as a result, but if she gathers a lot it’ll definitely add up big time. What a brilliant idea! 

Riida walks with a little spring in her step as she brings back her semi-loaded vacpack to the ranch. This little ranching gig might not be so bad, she thought happily. 

~

Venturing even further away from the ranch to find more sources of food, Riida is already struggling to manage her limited storage. 

Not only was one of her storage containers full of carrots, she even discovered fruit hanging from various trees. The blonde started to worry that only giving the pink slimes a carrot-only diet could mess up their biology in some way. The Slimepedia never mentioned anything about it, but she couldn’t help but worry since they are now in her care. Can slimes even die? Riida didn’t want to think about it. 

With only two spaces remaining, the rookie rancher proceeds with exploring the unknown terrain. She’ll need to take full advantage of the unused containers before she could head back and dump everything. She makes note of a water source she’d located, thinking about starting a little mini farm once she’s familiar enough with the terrain to know what can be grown on fertile soil. For now though...it’s time for a water break. 

After half splashing her face and half actually drinking it, Riida plops her back on a nearby rock to soak in the almost midday sun. Slouching off the vacpack, her shoulders practically sang an opera in relief. It practically weighed nothing when she left her hut, but now it felt like walking around high school with a bag full of textbooks all over again. Hopefully, she can develop the muscle for it soon, or else this ranch work will kick her in the butt sooner or later. Riida lets out a rather vocal sigh. 

“Hrnn...Don’t wanna get up now...” She mutters to no one. Raising an arm up to block out the sun, she sighs with contempt this time. “Maybe...five more minutes...Yeah…” Her eyes were already ahead of her, slowly drifting shut as the arm that was blocking the sun droops back to her side. This is a live-in job, so no one can yell at her for sleeping on the job. The gentle crashing of the water sounded almost hypnotic to the young woman’s ears as she lulls closer and closer to sleep. 

It was hard to tell how much time had passed until something violently jostled her to the ground. Riida made a noise she was sure she never made before upon impact. She could feel her head swimming from both adjusting her eyes to the light and registering the pain on her side. There wasn’t anything in sight, then what happened?

Out of the corner of her eye, she barely brushed against something round and spiky charging at her. However, she didn’t see the other one that slammed into her back, causing her to fall down just as she was getting up. 

“Ow! Hey!” Riida yelped, tumbling to her feet. “It’s rude to attack someone taking a nap, you know?” She scolded the spikey ball that missed her. The ball uncurled itself to reveal that it was a slime as well. This must be the Rock Slime she read about in the Slimepedia, who are known to attack anyone that even blinks at them. This is bad, really bad. She needs to think of something quick, or else she’s going to be part of the ground!

In a panic, Riida flips the suction of the vacpack and shoots some carrots in the direction away from the ranch. “Tactical retreat!” She yelled, making a break for it through the onslaught of new Rock Slimes emerged to chase after the vegetable. It serves her right for taking a nap in an area she wasn’t familiar with yet. Maybe she’ll have more luck napping with the Pink Slimes from before. 

~~~

_Dear Yuna,_

_It’s been a few days since I’ve started my new life ranching slimes, and so far I think I’m getting the hang of it. I’ve managed to upgrade the fence I was given at the start and wrangle the rest of the slimes in there. There are times where one of them somehow manages to sneak out and almost destroys the farm, but I manage to carry them back to their proper home. It’s starting to feel like I’m herding toddlers at recess._

_I’ve even met some other cute slimes farther out from the ranch! They’re called Tabby Slimes, and they’re exactly what you might imagine they look like! They’re sooo cute and friendly ^_^ ...until you heard the crunch they make when they eat live Hen Hens. But I can’t really be scared of them when they have such an adorable face. My next goal is to use their plorts to gain more money to make a proper coop for them. That way I won’t tire myself out just to see them. Here, I’ll send some pictures of the cuties I’ve encountered so far._

_Tell everyone at home I said hi! Hope to hear from you soon!_

_Love and miss ya!  
-Riida_

~~~

Now that Riida has gotten to the rhythm of it, she can finally take a ‘day off’ from ranching to explore the land some more. From where the Tabby Slimes are, she could see a little wooden bridge that leads to a small island, and another bridge that branches out from there! It’ll definitely be worth looking at. 

But now, she has something important to do. 

“Who’s a good slime? Oh, who’s a good slime? It’s you! Yes, you!” She’s becoming too infatuated with the feline shaped slimes that she couldn’t help herself by scratching one behind the ear, but then one became two and two became eight. The final nail in the coffin was the moment the slimes started to purr, and that was when Riida knew that her expedition into the unknown would have to be postponed for another time.

After some time, some of the kitty slimes ventured off to wherever their needs take them. Some would even compete with the neighboring Pink Slimes for the poor Hen Hens that wandered into the area. That was her cue to head back and stay in bed for the rest of the day. As she started to walk, she felt something nudging at her ankle. When she looked down, she saw a Tabby Slime by her feet. 

“Hey, little buddy.” Riida crouched down. “What’s up? You hungry?” The slime responded by brushing its face into her kneecap this time. “Are you...thirsty?” Again, another brush. “Do you...wanna follow me?” Instead of brushing its face again, the slime lets out a delighted meow. Riida couldn’t help but smile, petting the adorable slime like it was a real cat. “Well, can’t really say no to that cute face. Welcome to the team! I’ll call you…” Riida pauses. What was she going to call them? The slime purred under her touch as she continuously pulls blanks from her thoughts. “Eh, I’ll be here for a while. Surely I’ll think of a name for you eventually.”

Unfortunately, the pleasant bonding moment was interrupted when the other slimes started making sounds of distress. It was a sound Riida never heard before, and it immediately makes her worry. She zipped up her jumpsuit and pulled the straps of her vacpack before heading over to the sight. Not even three steps in, she turns around to her new companion. “Stay there, please.” With an affirming meow, Riida rushes in. 

She could see both types of slimes running away at the appearance of a brand new slime. Its evil face reflecting the prismatic colors inside of its sludge-like body. She let out a small gasp when she saw it assault a Tabby Slime that was playing with her just minutes ago, only for the poor creature to turn into the same shape as that malicious slime. 

Just as the newly formed slime was about to continue the cycle, Riida took action first with her vacpack. “Hey! Pick on someone your own size!” She powered on the suction, hoping to be able to contain this unknown slime. Instead, the tar coated slime refused to go in. It stared at her with that creepy smile as if it knew vacuuming it up would do nothing to it. It reared its sharp teeth at her, but Riida quickly flipped the switch of the suction. The delayed reaction plus all the trapped air trying to suck in this bad boy resulted in shooting the creature farther than she anticipated, launching it out to the open water under the cliff. The first monster, the catalyst of this anomaly, didn’t seem phased that it’s newly formed comrade is now swimming with the fishes. It lunges to attack Riida, but Riida was faster on the draw. She repeated the action much quicker the second time around, throwing it into the water as well. 

As much as Riida would love to see how good of a swimmer it is, it’s a much safer option to get back to the ranch as quickly as possible. She scooped up her new pet slime and bolted. 

~

Riida wrangled an escaped Hen Hen to the bench outside of her house where Newton, a name which came to her as soon as she ran back to home base, sat patiently for his meal. His tail swished idly as dinner drew near. The rancher, on the other hand, is working up her own appetite just trying to get this chicken-esqe animal to stay still. It doesn’t help that it’s getting darker, so keeping an eye on the darn thing is a challenge all on its own. If Newton had night vision like a real cat then now would be a good time to show it off. Thankfully, the young woman was able to snatch it as it was about to turn. “Finally…” She sighs, looking over to Newton. “Are you enjoying your dinner and a show there, pal?” Which got the same affirmative meow as before. 

Once her feline companion had his nightly fix, he curled up into a ball and fell asleep right there, leaving Riida to her thoughts. Her hand absentmindedly went to pet him, but it would be better not to disturb him from their well-deserved rest. She leans back to look at the night sky. No matter how long she’s been staring at it, she couldn’t make out any of the constellations she was familiar with. She felt a melancholic feeling sitting in the pit of her stomach. She wonders how her family is doing, she hopes that they’re reading her emails. She could remember how upset Yuna got when she had to go, and deep down she hopes that her sister isn’t mad at her still. The young rancher closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself of homesickness. 

As she opened her eyes, she couldn’t believe what was in front of her. Mysteriously, a cluster of Phosphor Slimes appeared in the night. They managed to find a way into her ranch and mindlessly roamed around. It’s a good thing she got an air net for the pink slime coop, she noted. 

Still, she couldn’t help but stare at the soft lights dancing in the air. The commotion of the traveling slimes woke Newton from his little cat nap. He even bounced off the bench to chase after them, most likely wanting to play. Everything’s locked up for the night, so the possibility of the slimes getting into the various food sources around the farm is low.

Riida couldn’t help but smile at the peaceful sight. To think only hours ago she was fighting for the other slimes as she yeeted the Tarr Slimes off the cliff in a semi-heroic fashion, just like in the comic books she read as a child. Having a cat chase after this world’s equivalent to fireflies brings a nostalgic feeling of those summer days. If only she could grow watermelon on this planet then it would be perfect. 

She couldn’t help but let out a content sigh. Yeah...everything’s going to be okay at this ranch. She’s sure of it. 

~~~

_Hey Yuna,_

_Everything’s coming up roses up here! I even made contact with some other ranchers on this planet, so I haven’t gone totally insane yet. I also adopted a slime...or maybe it adopted me. Either way, his name is Newton and he’s an adorable cat-shaped slime. I’ll even attach some photos of him so you can show everyone at home. He’s just an absolute sweetheart._

_Can’t believe it’s been 8 weeks since my life on the ranch started. I thought I would give up by the second week but I’m still alive somehow lol. I always end up discovering something I never knew existed on this planet, so it makes the adventure out there more exciting. Wish you were here to see all the sights and sounds I’m experiencing. Yes, I would carry you when your leg starts complaining….and yes, I’ll send photos of the scenery as well. Maybe my friends in the coops will take a liking to you. Who knows?_

_I’ll be sure to write every week when I can. You never know what’ll happen up here, you know? Can’t wait to hear from you soon!_

_Your favorite sister,  
-Riida_

**Author's Note:**

> I doubt I'll make more Slime Rancher fics, but if I play more and reach new areas that might change.
> 
> Also, if you're unfamiliar with Riida you probably know her from the Jojo reader insert fic. While she doesn't have a name there, Riida is just her canon name when I talk about her to others so I'm not stuck with calling her R-chan. Get it? Reader...Riida...I'll see myself out. 
> 
> The Slime Rancher OC Zine is also free...and it has merch! I don't think I can directly link it cause it's on Gumroad. Regardless, please take a look. Again, it's free! Everyone involved worked so hard on it, and I'm so proud to take part as both a moderator and a contributor!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Regular ~~procrastination~~ writing and posting will resume now.


End file.
